January 4, 2013

The death penalty debate in this country is going to persist for quite some time, but there are steps that can be immediately taken to sharply reduce the social risks of capital punishment while we wait for a national consensus.

First and foremost, we should demand that capital punishment not be a punitive option if there is no irrefutable DNA evidence linking an individual to a capital crime. This step alone will virtually eliminate the principal risk of capital punishment — the mistaken execution of an innocent individual.

Where such DNA proof doesn’t exist, the law should provide for incarceration without possibility of parole or other such measures that punish without the risk of error related to capital punishment. These measures should be readily acceptable to any society that believes itself to be just and compassionate.